


A Key to a Mountain and a Heart

by Quinythepooh



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-16 09:01:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 19,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29451210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quinythepooh/pseuds/Quinythepooh
Summary: The company of Thorin Oakenshield has a secret 16th member, 1 wizard, 2 hobbits, and 13 dwarves. Y/n Baggins, Bilbo Baggins's younger sibling was always more adventurous than their brother. It came as no surprise that they agreed to follow Thorin Oakenshield and his company in their quest to reclaim The Lonely Mountain.
Relationships: Thorin Oakenshield/Reader, Thorin Oakenshield/You
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	1. A Merry Gathering

Bilbo sits across the table from me, he happily squeezes lemon on the fish, a knock comes from the door causing his smile to drop. "I'll get it." I jump up from my seat and jog to the door, I open the door to see a bald dwarf standing there, "Dwalin, at your service." he bows, "Y/n Baggins, at yours." Dwalin walks into our hobbit hole, "Do we know each other?" "No." he drops his bag to the floor and starts walking around, "Which way laddie? He said there'd be food, and plenty of it." "He?" I guide him into the dining room, he sits in my seat and messily digs into the food, "Excuse me, who are you?" "Dwalin." crumbs fall from his mouth as he speaks, Bilbo grimaces, another knock comes from the door. "That'll be the door." Bilbo gets up to answer it, a minute later and older looking dwarf walks into the dining room. "Oh! Ah-hah! Evening brother." "By my beard! You are shorter and wider than last we met." "Wider not shorter. Sharp enough for the both of us." The two dwarves look at each other then butt heads, I gasp, Dwalin lead the other dwarf into the pantry, they start rummaging through the food. "It's not that I don't like visitors. I...I like visitors as much as the next hobbit. But I do like to know them before they come visiting." the dwarves ignore my brother, he continues. "The thing is, I don't...I don't know either of you, not in the slightest. I don't mean to be blunt, but I uh...but I had to speak my mind. I'm sorry." the two dwarves turn to him, "Apology accepted." the older one says, his eyes catch mine. "I don't think we met. Balin, at your service." "Y/n Baggins, at yours." Balin smiles at me, my head snaps to the door as a third knock rings through the house. "I'll get it," Bilbo lowers his voice. "Make sure they don't steal anything." I turn back to the two dwarves, "So how more of you are coming?" "There'll be 13 of us plus one wizard." Balin says as he fills up a pint glass with ale, I nod. Dwalin walks out of the pantry just as a dark haired dwarf walks into the dining room, "Fili, Kili, come on, give us a hand." A blonde dwarf follows the dark haired one, "Let's shove this in the hole, or otherwise we'll never get everyone in." Balin says as he gets on one side of the table, I watch as the four dwarves start to rearrange the dining room, I hear a loud thump as Bilbo drops something on a wooden box. I can't make out what Bilbo says, someone clears their throat, I turn to the noise. "Fili." "And Kili." "At your service." The blonde and dark haired dwarves say at the same time, "Y/n Baggins, at yours." Kili lowers his voice, "The wizard didn't say anything about Mr. Boggins being married." "I'm not, Bilbo is my brother." Eight more dwarves swarm the dining room, they disperse and start to raid the pantry. A tall man with grey robes passes me, I grab Bilbo's arm, "Is that Gandalf the grey?" "Yes." Bilbo grits out, he tries to stop the dwarves from taking the food. "Young Y/n Baggins." "Gandalf." I run over to him and wrap my arms around his legs, "I'm glad to see that not everyone forgets me." I beam up at him, he chuckles. "I have one question for you." "And what is that?" "Why are there..." I quickly count the dwarves in the dining room. "Twelve dwarves in the dining room. Wait twelve, Balin said that there would be thirteen." 

Gandalf's eyes scan the dwarves, "Where is he?" "He is late, is all. He traveled north to a meeting of our kin, he will come." Dwalin grunts, "He?" "All will be explained soon." He ruffles my hair, suddenly Bilbo grabs his sleeve and drags Gandalf away. I look at the dwarves, who are happily and messily eating what looks like all of the food that was in the pantry, my stomach grumbles. I turn to look at the pantry, I let out a small whimper as I see that there is no more food left. Balin comes next to me, "Here you go laddie." he hands me a small plate of food, I smile warmly at the old dwarf, he rushes off to stop one of the others from stealing his food. I sit on the table in the pantry, looking at the dwarves as I slowly start to eat. I reach down to pick up another potato, I look sadly at my plate realizing that I don't have any more food, I put my plate on the table behind me and go off to look for Bilbo. "Excuse me, I'm sorry to interrupt but what should I do with my plate?" Fili gently pushes past me, "Here you go Ori. Give it to me." he takes the plate and tosses it to Kili, who stands in the doorway of the kitchen. More plates and bowls whiz by my head, "Excuse me! That's my mother's Wes farthing pottery, it's over a hundred years old!" Bilbo exclaims in an effort to stop the dwarves, cutlery is used to make a beat. "And can you not do that. You'll blunt them!" A dwarf with a nice looking hat on responds, "Oh! You hear that lads. He says we'll blunt the knives."

_Blunt the knives, bend the forks_

_Smash the bottles and burn the corks_

_Chip the glasses and crack the plates_

_That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!_

_Cut the cloth, tread on the fat_

_Leave the bones on the bedroom mat_

_Pour the milk on the pantry floor_

_Splash the wine on every door!_

_Dump the crocks in a boiling bowls_

_Pound them up with a thumping pole_

_When you're finished if they are whole_

_Send them down the hall to roll_

_That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!_

The dining room lights up with laughter as Bilbo pushes past the dwarves, he stares in awe at the clean and stacked dishes. A sharp knock comes from the door and a silence fills the room, "He's here." Gandalf puffs out some smoke, he slowly walks to the door, the dwarves, Bilbo and I follow him. My eyes widen as Gandalf opens the door, my eyes rake the handsome blacked haired dwarf, "Gandalf." he nods towards the wizard. "I thought you said you said this place would be easy to find. I lost my way, twice." He steps into the house, "I wouldn't have found it at all if not for that mark on the door." "Mark?" Bilbo pushes past me, "There is no mark on that door, I just had it painted last week." "There is a mark, I put it there myself." Gandalf says as he closes the door, he turns to face everyone. "Bilbo, Y/n Baggins, allow me to introduce you to the leader of this company. Thorin Oakenshield." "There are two?" Gandalf nods, I lightly shake my head and drop my eyes to the floor. "Tell me, have you done much fighting?" "Pardon me." "Axe or sword?" Without thinking I blurt out, "Sword." Bilbo looks at me astonished, Thorin raises a brow at me, "They are lighter, easier to control, plus you can use them with one hand." The group of dwarves nod in agreement, I feel eyes boring into me, I look up to meet Thorin's gaze. "I like this one." I smile proudly, Bilbo nudges me in the side, "Fuck, what was that for?" "What are you doing? You don't know why they are here or who they are." "I know who some of them are. Don't worry Bilbo, I'm sure they will explain shortly." The dwarves stare between me and my brother, "Where are my manners? You must be hungry, this way." I say, leading Thorin to the dining room, "Is there anything in particular you would like to eat?" "Soup will do fine" Thorin sits at the head of the table, I rush into the kitchen and pull out some ingredients and a pot, "Aren't you helpful?" My brother says sarcastically, "At least I'm doing something instead of complaining." I put the pot on the stove and put more wood in the fire, "Can you get some bread?" Bilbo grumbles as he starts to leave the room, "Oh and a pint of ale." I focus on chopping the carrots, "Bilbo, can you also get the stock?" "I suppose." I smile to myself, putting the chopped carrots and onion in the pot, Bilbo rushes back into the kitchen holding a pint of ale, bread, and the stock. "Thank you." "Don't mention it." "You are grumpy this evening." "I am not, I just don't like that there are so many dwarves in my dining room." I chuckle, slowly pour in the stock. "I think that qualifies you as grumpy..... Is there any meat left?" "I'll go get it." 'Ham would be preferable." A white haired dwarf wanders into the kitchen, "Could I assist you in anyway laddie?" "No, I'm fine but thank you for asking. Could you just inform Master Oakenshield that his soup should be ready shortly?" "Alright." He turns to leave, "Oh I never introduced myself. Dori, at your service." "Y/n, at yours." He leaves the kitchen, I hear muffled voices from the dining room. "You are being too friendly." "Too friendly?" I put the wooden spoon I was using to stir on the counter, "I'm just trying to be hospitable." "You only started being 'hospitable'" Bilbo puts air quotes around 'hospitable', "when Oakenshield turned up." "That's not true." I pick up the ham and cut off a sizable piece, which I start to cube. "It's not true?" "It's not." "Then tell me why you are making him soup." My cheeks heat up, "That's what I thought." "Sod off, you wanker." I chuckle, Bilbo puts his hand over his heart. "I am hurt." 

"Oh boo woo, poor lil you." I ruffle his hair with my free hand, "We are the same height." "Whatever you say. Now could you get me a bowl and a spoon?" He sighs but goes to get the things I asked to get, I stir the soup, "Actually get two spoons." "I'm not your servant." "I was just asking, you are the one that actually complied." He sets the bowl and two spoons on the counter next to me, "Right. Is the bread on a plate?" "No." "Could you put it on one?" no response comes, I look around the kitchen to find myself alone, putting the spoon on the counter, I walk around the kitchen gathering seasonings and a plate, I walk back to the stove. The seasoning clatter onto the counter, I gently place the plate down next to the bowl, I hum to myself as I start to put the seasonings in the soup. 

_Oh, Sally Brown, she's a nice young lady,_

_Way, hay, roll and go._

_And we rolled all night,_

_And we rolled all day,_

_Spend our money on Sally Brown._

"You have a lovely voice." I jump slightly, "Sorry I didn't mean to scare you. I just heard you singing and wanted to hear it clearly." my cheeks burn, "I didn't know that you could hear. I thought I was being quiet." Thorin chuckles as me walks over to me, he looks down at me. "Could I hear some more of your beautiful voice?" I nod shyly, 

_Oh, Sally Brown, she's a bright mulatto._

_Way, hay, roll and go._

_Well, she drinks dark rum,_

_And she chews tobacco._

_Way, hay, roll and go._

_And we rolled all night,_

_And we rolled all day,_

_Spend our money on Sally Brown._

I get more confident as I go on, Thorin smiles at me. I start to dance around the kitchen, 

_Well, her father likes a tarry sailor._

_Way, hay, roll and go._

_And we rolled all night,_

_And we rolled all day,_

_Spend our money on Sally Brown._

_Thorin stomps his foot to the beat, his eyes scrunching as his smile grows._

_Ah, Sally Brown, she likes a good Scrumpy._

_Way, hay, roll and go._

_She likes a bit on a Rumpy-pumpy._

_Way, hay, roll and go._

_And we rolled all night,_

_And we rolled all day,_

_Spend our money on Sally Brown._

_Oh, Sally Brown, she's a nice young lady,_

_Way, hay, roll and go._

_Yeah, Sally Brown, she's a fine young lady!_

_Way, hay, roll and go._

_And we rolled all night,_

_And we rolled all day,_

_Spend our money on Sally Brown._

_And we rolled all night,_

_And we rolled all day,_

_Spend our money on Sally Brown._

I pant as I stop in front of the stove, "That was amazing. You are a fantastic singer, and a fantastic dancer." "Thank you, Master Oakenshield." I bow, "No need to call me that. Thorin will work just fine." "Sorry, it's just what I was taught." "I understand." He leans on the wall, "Crap." I look at the soup, I pick up one of the spoons and tastes the soup. "Wow, that's actually perfect." "Can I?" He steps towards the stove, I move out of the way. "Of course, it's your meal anyways." He chuckles, picking up the other spoon and picks up a small amount of soup. He tastes it, "So you can dance, sing, and cook." I feel heat return to my cheeks, he steps to the side, I step forward and serve some of the soup into the bowl. "Let me help." "You don't need to. Go sit down and I'll be out right behind you." Suddenly a hand comes in front of me and grabs the plate and the pint glass, "I wasn't asking." "Thorin, you didn't need to." He throws me a smile and walks back into the dining room, I follow closely behind him, he sits down at the head of the table again. I set the bowl in front of him, and move so I stand next to my brother, eyes land on me then on Thorin, he clears his throat and all eyes land on Gandalf. Gandalf takes out a map and sets it in the middle of the table, I lean over the table trying to study the map, "Far to the East, over ranges and rivers, beyond woodlands and wastelands, lies a single solitary peak." "The Lonely Mountain." "Aye, Oin has read the portents, and the portents say, it is time." a ginger dwarf says, "Ravens have been seen flying back to the mountain as it was foretold. When the birds of the old return to Erebor, the reign of the beast will end." "Uh... what beast?" Bilbo asks, "Well that would be a reference to Smaug the terrible, chiefest and greatest calamity of our age. Airborne fire breather, teeth like razors, claws like meat hooks, extremely fond of precious metals." "I know what a dragon is." Ori stands up, "I'm not afraid, I'm up for it. I'll give him a taste of the dwarfish iron right up his jacksy!" The dwarves cheer him on, "Sit down." Dori grits, "The task would be difficult enough with an army behind us, but we number just thirteen, and not thirteen of the best, nor brightest." "Hey! Who are you calling dim?" The dwarves fight among themselves, "We may be few in number. But we're fighters, all of us! To the last dwarf!" "And you forget we have a wizard in our company, Gandalf will have killed hundreds of dragons in his time." Kili exclaims. 

"Oh, well. No, uh, I...I wouldn't say..." The wizard stammers, "How many then?" "What?" "Well, how many dragons have you killed? Go on, give us a number!" The dwarves start to talk over each other as they grow angrier "Uh...Please. Please." Bilbo tries to calm them, Thorin rises from his chair and shouts "Enough!" He rests his hands on the table, "If we have read these signs, do you not think others will have read them too? Rumors have begun to spread. The dragon Smaug has not been seen for sixty years. Eyes look East to the mountain, assessing, wondering, weighing the risk. Perhaps the vast wealth of our people now lies unprotected. Do we sit back while others claim what is rightfully ours? Or do we seize this chance to take back Erebor?" I clap as the dwarves cheer him on, "You forget the front gate is sealed. There is no way into the mountain." "That, my dear Balin, is not entirely true." Gandalf holds up a key, "How came you by this?" Thorin glares at the wizard, "It was given to me by your father by Thrain, for safekeeping. It is yours now." he gently hands Thorin the key, Thorin examines the key smiling to himself. "If there is a key, there must be a door!" Fili stands up, I stifle my laughter behind my hand. Gandalf points to the runes on the map, "These runes speak of a hidden passage to the lower halls." "There's another way in." "Well, if we can find it, but dwarf doors are invisible when closed. The answer lies hidden somewhere in this map, and I do not have the skill to find it, but there are others in Middle-Earth who can. The task I have in mind will require a great deal of stealth, and no small amount of courage. But if we're careful and clever, I believe that it can be done." "That is why we need a burglar." "Hmm. And a good one too. An expert, I'd imagine." I smack my hand to my head, "And are you?" All eyes land on my brother, "Am I what?" An older looking dwarf points to Gandalf, "He said he's an expert!" "Me? No! No, No, No! I...I'm not a burglar. I've never stolen a thing in my life." "And I'm afraid I have to agree with Mr. Baggins. He's hardly burglar material." Balin hangs his head, his brother chimes in. "Aye, the wild is no place for gentle folk who can neither fight nor fend for themselves." Once again the dwarves talk among themselves, I rub my temples trying to digest all the information that was just presented, Gandalf rises. "Enough! If I say Bilbo Baggins is a burglar, then a burglar he is! Hobbits are remarkably light on their feet. In fact, they can pass unseen by most if they choose, and while the dragon is accustomed to the smell of a dwarf, the scent of a hobbit is all but unknown to him, which gives us a distinct advantage. You asked me to find the fourteenth member of this company, and I have chosen Mr. Baggins. There's a lot more to him than appearances suggest. And he's got a great deal more to offer than any of you know, including himself." 

Gandalf looks at Thorin, "You must trust me on this." "Very well. We'll do it your way." "No. No..." my brothers weak attempts to stop the wizard fail. "Give him the contract." "Orin. We're off!" "Please." Balin rises to his feet and pulls out a contract, "It's just the usual summary of out-of-pocket expenses, time required, remuneration, funeral arrangements, so forth." he passes the contract to Thorin who passes it to Bilbo. "Funeral arrangements?" Bilbo fully opens the contract, "Ooh!" Thorin leans towards and whispers something that I can't make out, "Total's cash on delivery, up to but not exceeding, one fourteenth of total profit if any.....Seems fair. The present company shall not be liable for injuries inflicted by or sustained as a consequence thereof, including, but not limited to...lacerations. Evisceration." He turns the page over, "Incineration?" the dwarf with the hat speaks up, "Oh, aye, he'll melt the flesh off your bones in the blink of an eye." Bilbo lets out a small whimper, "You alright, laddie?" "Huh? Yeah, I fe..." He takes a big breath, "I feel a bit faint." "Think furnace, with wings." "I...I...I need air." "Flash of light, searing pain, then poof! You're nothing more than a pile of ash!" The dwarf lunges forward with a smile on his face, Bilbo thinks for a minute looking at the dwarves, "No." he faints, collapsing to the floor. I squat next to him, "Oh, very helpful, Bofur." Gandalf glares at the dwarf, Bofur flashes a smile and sits back down, "Give him a minute laddie, he'll come around soon." Balin puts a comforting hand on my shoulder, "Why don't you put the kettle on, so he can have tea when he wakes up." Gandalf says, I nod, giving one last look at my brother, I step over him and walk into the kitchen. I grab the kettle and fill it with water, putting it on the stove which is still hot. While I wait for the water to boil, I pull out my pipe and put some pipe-weed in it before lighting it and inhaling deeply. The first puff of smoke comes out a simple circle, the next as a small dragon which flies through the smoke circle before both disappear, "Most impressive." I turn to the voice, "Kili, was it?" the dark haired dwarf nods, "You seem to be more open to an adventure than your brother." "I have always liked to go out on adventures but when we inherited this hobbit hole, Bilbo made me promise not to go on any, quote 'silly adventures' unquote. The farthest I've been in years has been to the forest." "Really? What's the farthest you've ever gone from home?" "Yes really." I hold the pipe in one hand, "The farthest I've ever been from home was Bree." I pull out a mug and place it on the counter, "Earlier you said sword, how much sword work have you done?" "You ask a lot of questions," I pull some peppermint leaves down from the bunch that hangs above the sink, "but to answer your question, not that much. I'm rusty, haven't held a sword for years." I put the leaves in the mug, then pick up the kettle and pour the boiled water into the mug. 

I walk out of the kitchen with pipe in one hand and mug of tea in the other. "We could go outside and see just how rusty you are." Kili follows behind me, "Kili stop bothering them." "It's fine, I can deal with him myself." I chuckle as I walk into the living room, Gandalf stops talking to Bilbo so I can give him the tea. "There you go, drink up. How are you feeling?" "I'm fine." Bilbo takes the tea, "Thank you." "You're welcome. I'll leave you two be, call if you need anything." Both men nod at me, I exit the living room and make my way to the front hall. "Kili..... I will not fight you today but maybe one day." He pumps his arm, "Yes!" I chuckle at his childish behavior, my eyes scan the dwarves. "Where's Thorin?" "Kitchen." Bofur puffs from his pipe, "I was just.." "He's cleaning his dishes." "He waited until no one was there." "Lord help me, none of you stopped him?" "No." The dwarves say at the same time, "I heard my name." Thorin stands in the doorway of the kitchen, the dwarves look in different directions, I stare at the black haired dwarf, his eyes lock with mine. "Sorry, I was just wondering where you went off to." He cracks a small smile, "It appears we have lost our burglar." Balin's voice carries down the hallway, Thorin's head snaps in the direction of the living room, I sigh putting my now cold pipe in my pocket. "Probably for the best. The odds were always against us. After all, what are we? Merchants, miners, tinkers, toy makers. Hardly the stuff of legend." "There are a few warriors amongst us." "Old warriors." "I would take each and every one of these dwarves over an army from the Iron Hills, for when I called upon them, they answered. Loyalty, honor, a willing heart. I can ask no more than that." Thorin walks towards Balin, "You don't have to do this. You have a choice. You've done honorably by our people. You have built a new life for us in the Blue Mountains. A life of peace and plenty. A life that is worth more than all the gold in Erebor." "From my grandfather to my father, this has come to me. They dreamt of the day when the dwarves of Erebor would reclaim their homeland. There is no choice, Balin. Not for me." "Then we are with you, laddie. We will see it done." Thorin nods at the older dwarf. 

Thorin turns back to me, "Which room is most spacious?" "Um...." I think for a minute, "Probably the living room." "Alright lads, set up in the living room. Rest up tonight, we leave at dawn." One by one the dwarves stream into the living room, "Do you need anything else before you sleep?" Thorin shakes his head, I softly pad over to him, "It's a shame that you are leaving so soon." "Why is that?" "I was starting to like the company of dwarves." He chuckles, "Well it was nice while it lasted. You should probably head to bed as well, it's getting late." "It was nice to meet you." I turn to the rest of the dwarves, "All of you." I turn and head to my bedroom feeling a bit sad. As I sit on my bed, I hear a soft humming drift from the living room. 

_Far over the misty mountains cold_

_To dungeons deep and caverns old_

_We must away ere break of day_

_To find our long-forgotten gold_

_The pines were roaring on the height_

_The winds were moaning in the night_

_The fire was red, it flaming spread;_

_The trees like torches blazed with light_

Thorin's voice echoes in my head, the story of the dragon burning into my mind. After a few hours of tossing and turning in my bed, I get up and pack a small bag of clothes and sneak into the kitchen to get food and water. "What are you doing up this late?" I jump, not bothering to turn to the familiar voice, "I could ask the same to you, Thorin." "I've been thinking." Slowly I turn to him, "About what?" "You." I raise my eyebrow, "Well your brother isn't up for joining us on our quest but you seemed to be interested." "Mhm." "Would you like to join the company as the 14th member?" "I-... Really?" He nods, "I feel as though I'd be stealing from my brother though." "I highly doubt Master Baggins will be joining us, but if he does then he will be joining as the 15th member. So there is no stealing." "Can I have some time to think?" "You have until dawn to make your decision." He walks out of the kitchen, I stand frozen in thought for what feels like hours. Remembering why I came to the kitchen in the first place, I snap out of my daze, quietly I collect some food that won't spoil and I fill a water skin with fresh water. Sneaking back to my room, I catch Thorin staring out the window, resisting the urge to walk over to him I make my way to my room. I lay out all of the food and the water on my bed, carefully I place the food and water in the bag. 


	2. Out of the Shire

The sun peeks through the clouds, I leap out of bed, quickly I change into some old overalls and a nicer looking shirt. I pull my jacket out of my closet and pick up my bag, swinging my bag onto my back, I pad out of my room. The sound of sizzling meat greets my ears, thirteen tired faces meet my eyes, "Master Baggins." Thorin nods at me, "Please no need for the formalities, it's just Y/n." The dwarves chuckle, "I see you have made your decision." "Yes I did." Eyes drift between Thorin and I, "Come on, sit down. Breakfast will be ready in a minute." I sit next to Kili, "So," Kili throws his arm around my shoulder and whispers, "You and Thorin had a good chat last night?" Fili slaps the back of his brother's head, "Yea we did." Kili raises his eyebrow at me, plates of steaming food get placed on the table, "Dig in lads. You'll need the energy." Balin says, Kili moves his hand away from my shoulder and grabs a sausage. I hesitantly reach forward and grab some bacon, Gandalf sits down across from me, he looks at me with a surprised look on his face. Dori comes from the kitchen holding a tray of mugs, "Coffee anyone?" "Over here." I raise my hand, he walks over to me and I take two of the mugs off of the tray. "Did you get any sleep last night, y/n?" Gandalf asks, I shake my head as I sip from one of the mugs, he sighs. "Don't worry about me Gandalf, I've gone longer without sleeping." I smile up at the wizard, he takes a mug off of the tray. "I can do nothing but worry when it comes to you." A plate of toast, eggs, and bacon gets placed in front of me, I look up to see Thorin giving Dori a curt nod, "Thank you Dori." "It's nothing lad, eat quickly we'll be leaving soon." I make a breakfast sandwich out of the things on my plate, I slowly eat the sandwich while watching the dwarves inhale their food. Bombur reaches for the last boiled egg, his hand gets swatted away by Ori soon the dwarves are fighting amongst themselves, I chuckle at their behavior. "Quiet. We don't want to be waking Master Baggins...." The dwarves looks at Thorin, "The other Master Baggins." He rubs his eyes, I quickly finish my sandwich, slowly I maneuver around the dwarves to Thorin. "Do you need anything? Coffee? Tea? Whiskey? A pipe?" He looks up at me, "No no, I'll be fine. Just a bit tired." I nod, "Ah.... Kili can you pass my coffee?" Kili shoves the rest of the toast in his mouth, my coffee is passed down the table until it reaches me. "Thank you." I take a hesitantly sip, upon realizing that the coffee is now cool, I chug both mugs of coffee and gently place the mugs on the table. Dwalin looks at me surprised, "Can you do that with ale?" Fili pokes his head out of the line of dwarves, "I've never tried, I'm not allowed to drink." "That's going to have to change on the road." 

I chuckle, "How old are you?" Kili asks, "It's rude to ask people their age." "That you must find out yourself, young Kili." I joke, the dwarf chuckles, "Good one." "Right we should get saddled up." "Saddled up?" "Ponies." My eyes widen, and I mumble to myself, "Well, I guess this is a first time for everything." Dori leans close to Thorin and whispers something, "The wee one will get Magni." My ears perk up, Thorin gives a half nod to Dori, "Everyone outside." "What about the di-" I stop myself halfway through my sentence looking at the clean table, I run my eyes and look at the table again. "I forgot how fast dwarves can do things." A hand gets placed on my shoulder, I get lead out of the hobbit hole and out into the garden, I gasp at the sight of sixteen ponies. "You'll be paired with Magni, she is our friendliest pony." I look up at the person who lead me out into the garden, Bofur leads a dappled grey pony and a chestnut pony to where Thorin and I stand. The ponies stand completely still as Thorin walks to the grey one, he calls to me with his hand, "Step into the stirrup, then gently swing your other leg over her back." I look at the pony, "Umm..." "Here." Thorin pats the horn of the saddle, "Put your hands there before you do anything, then step into the stirrup and gently swing your other leg over Magni's back." He gets in front of me, and holds the stirrup still, "Just step up." I put my hands on the horn, I step into the stirrup and swing my leg over Magni's back like Thorin directed, putting my foot in the other stirrup I smile. "Good going laddie." Thorin moves to the chestnut pony and quickly mounts it, "You can give your bag to me." I quickly take my bag off of my back and hand it to Gloin, he hooks it to one of the other bags on his pony before mounting the pony. Thorin and Gandalf lead the company out of the garden and out onto the streets of The Shire. Holding the reigns loosely, I shift slightly as I grow used to the feeling of riding on a pony, Fili and Kili come on either side of me, they speak so only I can hear. "So you and Uncle Thorin seem to have bonded last night." "You aren't going to leave this alone, will you? Wait.... uncle?" "Nope." They say at the same time, they look at each other, "I guess we didn't say it last night. Thorin is our uncle." I nod thinking, "And just so you know, nothing happened last night. Thorin simply caught me...... sneaking around the kitchen." "Why were you sneaking around your own kitchen?" Kili asks, "I didn't want to disturb anyone. I was packing." "For what?" "Well I was going to come with you guys, before Thorin asked me to. I knew Gandalf would let come with you guys, if I wasn't invited." 

Trees surround us, the sun rises in the sky, I yawn and slump forward on Magni's neck. "It is not the best idea to sleep while riding a pony." I jerk up right, "I'm not sleepy." "Sure you aren't." "Just a word of a advice, don't sleep on a pony. You'll get cricks and wake up sore." I nod at the brothers, rolling my neck as Kili continues, "The worst that can happen is you fall off and your pony leaves you behind." "But we wouldn't let old Magni leave you behind." Fili leans over and pats my shoulder, I smile at the man. "Wait! Wait!" A familiar voice breaks through the small chatter, I turn to the voice, "Bilbo?" "I signed it." He waves the contract around in the air, he hands the contract to Balin who checks it over, "Everything appears to be in order. Welcome, Master Baggins, to the company of Thorin Oakenshield." "Give him a pony." "No, no, no, no. That...that won't be necessary. Thank you. I'm sure I can keep up on foot. Yeah, I...I've done my fair share of walking holidays, you know? Even got as far as Frog Morton once." Bilbo shakes his head, two of the dwarves pick up my brother and plant him on the back of dark brown pony. Dwarves toss around satchels of coins, "What's that about?" Bilbo asks Gandalf, "Oh, they took wagers on whether or not you'd turn up. Most of them bet that you wouldn't." "And what did you think?" "Well..." the wizard catches a satchel of coins that someone tosses at him, "My dear fellow, I never doubted you for a second." Bilbo sneezes, "Oh, it's horse hair. Having a reaction." he rummages through his pockets looking for something. "Uh...wait, wait. Stop! Stop! We have to turn around." "What on earth is the matter?" "I forgot my handkerchief." I smack my hand to my head, "Here! Use this." he rips off a bit of cloth from his coat and throws it at Bilbo, who looks down at the cloth in disgust. "Move on!" Thorin speaks loudly, I look up at him, Kili looks at his brother then at me, they nod to each other. "Go on, talk to him." "Nah, I don't want to distract him." I look down at Magni's mane, "You won't distract him. Go talk to him, nothing bad will happen." Fili lightly taps Magni's back leg twice, she speeds up her pace and in a minute I am riding next to Thorin. "So... you have one more than you were expecting in your company." "Mmhm, two hobbits is more than I was expecting but everything will still work out perfectly." He takes a long pause, "I heard you talking to my nephew's, you were planning to come even if you weren't invited." "Yes, I wanted to help, and I'm always up for an adventure. After listening to you sing about what happened, I made my decision. That's why I was in the kitchen." He chuckles, "You were burglarizing your own house." "Kind of. I just wanted to make sure I had food and water." 

I feel someone's gaze bore into my back, I turn to see Bilbo glaring at me, I bite my thumb in his direction, Gandalf chuckles. "Brother?" "Yea, How'd you know?" "My cousins and I used to act the same way, then my father started to take me away so I could learn how to rule Erebor." He looks at me sadly, "He was doing what he had to, I understand why he did it." I look up at him, "Well you are a great leader, at least from what I have seen. You are a natural leader." He cracks a small smile in my direction. "Not natural, it was all taught to me." "That's a lie, don't listen to him laddie." Balin shouts from the middle of the line, Thorin chuckles, "I haven't known you for that long but from what I have seen you are a natural leader, everyone respects you and it's seems as though they will follow you to the ends of the world if you asked." "Aye, that's true." "Very true." Balin says, the company bursts out in cheers of agreement, "I would never ask them to do that." Magni moves towards Thorin's pony, my eyes drop to her neck, "Oh." Thorin breathes out. "Do you own a sword? Last night you talked about how you have some experience with one." "No I don't. I only used my great great uncle's sword a few times when I was younger. I practiced with my cousins in the forest every other weekend." "We will be able to get you a sword soon enough." I nod, my gaze falls back on Thorin. "Once you get a sword, one of us will help train you." "No, no. I don't like the sound of that. You could get hurt." I sigh, "Bilbo, it's fine. I'm not a kid anymore, and besides I'm sure they'll be careful. There is nothing to worry about." "I can't help but worry. You are my only sibling and I wouldn't be able live with myself if you got hurt." I lean over and put a comforting hand on my brother's shoulder, "Nothing will happen to me, nothing will happen to us. Try and relax, look at the scenery instead. You worry too much old man." "I am only a year older than you." "That still makes you old." I chuckle as I watch his face scrunches up in thought. 

We had been riding for what seemed like a few hours when the sun starts to set, "We'll set up camp here tonight. Ori, Gloin go find some wood for a fire. Dori start preparing dinner." Thorin says as he gets off of his pony, the three dwarves nod at their instructions. I swing my right leg over Magni's back so I sit sideways on the saddle, Fili and Kili come over to me and hold out their hands, I take their hands and they help me get down from Magni's back. "Thank you." "You're welcome, we are to help if you need it." I throw a smile at the brothers, inhaling deeply I sit on a rock. "What's on the menu tonight?" "Stew." The sound of disgruntled voices fade into the background as my eyelids drop. I get woken up by a high pitched shriek, sitting bolt up right as I rub my eyes, "What was that?" "Orcs." I stare at Kili, "Orcs?" Bilbo and I say at the same time, "Throat cutters. There'd be dozens of them out there. The low lands are crawling with them." "They strike, in the wee small hours, when everyone's asleep. Quick and quiet, no screams. Just lots of blood." Fili and Kili chuckle as my brother and I glance at each other worriedly. "You think that's funny? You think a night raid by orcs is a joke?" My eyes snap to where Thorin's voice came from, "We didn't mean anything by it." "No you didn't. You know nothing of the world." the brothers faces fill with guilt as they drop their gaze to the ground, Thorin walks off to the edge of the camp. "Don't mind him, laddie. Thorin has more cause than most to hate orcs." Another shriek pierces the night sky, Balin pushes it off and continues, "After the dragon took the Lonely Mountain, King Thror tried to reclaim the ancient dwarf kingdom of Moria. But our enemy had got' there first. Moria had been taken by legions of orcs, led by the most vile of all their race, Azog the Defiler. The giant Gundabad orc had sworn to wipe out the line of Durin. He began by beheading the king. Thrain, Thorin's father, was driven mad by grief, he went missing, taken prisoner or killed, we did not know. We were leaderless. Defeat and death were upon us. That is when I saw him. A young dwarf prince facing down the Pale Orc. He stood alone against this terrible foe. His armor rent, wielding nothing but an oaken branch as a shield." I look to Thorin, "Azog the Defiler learned that day, that the line of Durin would not be so easily broken. Our forces rallied, and drove the orcs back. Our enemy had been defeated, but there was no feast, nor song that night for our dead were beyond the count of grief. We few, had survived. And I thought to myself then, there is one who I could follow, there is one I could call king." Thorin turns to the group, all eyes are on him, "And the Pale Orc? What happened to him?" Thorin looks at my brother, "He slunk back into the hole whence he came. That filth died of his wounds long ago." 

My eyes drop to the crackling fire, "Here you go laddie, we saved some stew." Balin passes me a wooden bowl, "Thank you." I take the bowl from him. I slowly eat, watching the company slowly fall asleep again. Thorin sits next to me on the rock, "How long was I out?" "A few hours, I tried to move you from the rock but your brother advised me against it." I chuckle, "Yea, it's best not to move me when I sleep. I can get a little violent." He raises his eyebrow at me, "Flailing around, punching, kicking. I don't like being disturbed while I sleep, so my body reacts without me knowing." He nods, "I'll keep that in mind. I just wanted you to be comfortable." "I can sleep anywhere for any amount of time.... but thank you for worrying about me." He puts his hand on my shoulder, "I worry about all who are in this company. Make sure you get some rest tonight, and don't sleep on the rock." Thorin gets up and walks back to the spot on the grass where he was sleeping earlier, I put the empty bowl of the ground. He looks back at me, "Goodnight Y/n." "Goodnight Thorin." I sink to the dirt floor of the cave, laying down on my back I stare up at the cave ceiling. 


	3. From Forest to Plains

I get shaken awake, I groan, "Sod off." "Come on, Y/n. You need to wake up and get breakfast." I sit up right, eyes wide. "Breakfast?" "I knew that would get you up." I stretch as I get up from the cave floor, "It won't be as big as yesterday's breakfast but it will make do." my brother hands me a plate of eggs and a biscuit. "I assume we won't be getting second breakfast." He shakes his head, "Oh well, we will survive." I quickly inhale the eggs, pocketing the biscuit for later. "That was fast." "What can I say, I was hungry." "You always surprise me with how fast you can eat." My brother chuckles, he stands next to me eating his eggs. "How did you sleep?" Bilbo leans closer to me and whispers, "Not very well, I couldn't shake what they told us about orcs last night." "You'll be able to shake it soon enough.... at least I think you will be able to." "Hopefully I will be able to." "Everyone eat?" Thorin asks, his eyes scan the company, everyone nods, "Alright, douse the fire and saddle up." Dwalin gets up to fill a bucket with water when it starts to rain, the fire hisses as it's extinguished. Bofur leads Magni towards me, I walk out of the cave, "Hey girl." I slowly reach my hand up to her cheek, I smile softly as I pet her. She sniffs at my pocket, I chuckle, "That's not for you." I walk to her side, quickly mounting her. "You are warming up to her quickly." Kili comes next to me, "I like animals. They are easy to talk to, they comfort me." He nods, we slowly make our way away from the camp and once again we find ourselves in a forest. "Here, Mr. Gandalf? Can't you do something about this deluge?" Dori asks, "It is raining, Master dwarf. And it will continue to rain until the rain is done! If you wish to change the weather of the world, you should find yourself another wizard." "Are there any?" I listen to the conversation intently, "What?" Gandalf looks at Bilbo, "Other wizards?" "There are five us. The greatest of our order is Saruman, The White. Then there are the two blue wizards. Do you know, I've quite forgotten their names." "And who is the fifth?" "Well, that would be Radagast, The Brown." "Is he a great wizard or is he...more like you?" Gandalf looks surprised at Bilbo's question, "I think he's a very great wizard, in his own way. He's a gentle soul who prefers the company of animals to others. He keeps a watchful eye over the vast forestlands to the East, and a good thing too, for always evil will look to find a foothold in this world." Magni trots until I am next to Gandalf. "Does he ever come out of the forestlands?" "Rarely." 

We continue riding through the forest, I pull the biscuit out of my pocket, "No fair. Why did you get two biscuits?" Ori looks longingly at the biscuit in my hand, "I'll split with you, if you would like." He nods quickly, I tear the biscuit into two pieces, handing the bigger piece to the dwarf. He takes small bites to savor the gift, "Thank you." "You're welcome, I'm always happy to share." "You never share with me." "Well that's because your.... you." Bilbo overdramatically gasps, "How dare you." I chuckle at his antics, "If you are hungry." Gandalf tosses an apple at my brother, who just barely catches it. "I... Thank you." He rubs the apple on his shirt before taking a big bite out of it. I look up through the branches of the trees, the sun is directly over us, "Noon." out of the corner of my eyes I see two familiar faces come beside me. "Fili, Kili." The brothers nod at me, "We want to know more about you." "Like what?" "I don't know, I suppose we'd like to know anything and everything." Kili nods in agreement at his brother's statement. "There isn't much to talk about, I don't have a particularly interesting life." "Hmmm.. What was your childhood like?" "Well, I was born and raised in The Shire, in Bag-End. I spent most of my time running around in the fields or the forests, on occasion I would meet up my cousins and we would see who could get away from Farmer Maggot after stealing some of his crops." "Who would end up getting away?" "My cousin Ponto, Rosa, and I. The rest of 'em would be caught and dragged into Hobbiton to be punished by their parents. They usually got sent to work for Farmer Maggot, which just resulted in more stealing so not the brightest plan." "Did Bilbo ever participate?" "Sometimes. Most of the time he would go adventuring on his own, enjoying his own company more than that of others." "What about your sword skills?" "Ah." I chuckle lightly, "That wasn't when I was a child, it was my great great uncle's sword. I was only allowed to use it because I was the most trusted." Bilbo scoffs, "I was and still am more trust worthy than you." "Says the hobbit that just openly admitted to stealing in your free time." "I.... I'm trusted by family and friends. That's what counts." "Debatable." he says under his breath. I decide to ignore him and focus on the scenery passing us by.

We stop at a ruined farm on the outskirts of the forest, "We'll camp here for the night. Fili, Kili, look after the ponies. Make sure you stay with them." Thorin says. Gandalf looks around at the ruined farm, he speaks to himself, "A farmer and his family used to live here." "Oin, Gloin." "Aye?" the deaf dwarf holds up his hearing horn to his ear. "Get the fire going." "Right you are." Oin and Gloin go around collecting small twigs and logs for a fire, I walk around the ruins of the farm. "I think it would be wiser to move on. We could make for the hidden valley." "But I've told you already. I will not go near that place." Thorin grits out, "Why not? The Elves could help us, we could get food, rest, advice." "I do not need their advice." "We have a map that we cannot read. Lord Elrond could help us." "Help? A dragon attacks Erebor. What help came from the Elves? Orcs plunder Moria, desecrate our sacred halls, the Elves looked on and did nothing! You ask me to seek out the very people who betrayed my grandfather, who betrayed my father." Thorin's voice grows louder, I turn to the two men. "You are neither of them. I did not give you that map and key for you to hold on to the past." "I did not know they were yours to keep." He practically hisses at the wizard, Gandalf walks off frustrated. "Everything alright? Gandalf, where are you going?" Bilbo asks, not knowing the conversation that Gandalf and Thorin just had. "To seek the company of the only one around here who's got any sense." "And who's that?" "Myself, mister Baggins! I've had enough of dwarves for one day." Gandalf huffs out as he walks away from the company. "Come on Bombur, we're hungry." Thorin turns to Bombur, the ginger dwarf walks to the fire and starts to prepare dinner. Soon enough it starts to get dark, "He's been a long time." Bilbo looks to the pass where Gandalf headed to after leaving the camp. "Who?" Bofur asks as he serves some food into two bowls, "Gandalf." "He's a wizard! He does as he chooses. Here. Do us a favor, take this to the lads." He hands the bowls to Bilbo, turning back to the pot he sees Bombur trying to take more food. "Stop it, you've had plenty." He dishes up another bowl of soup and hands it to me, "Thank you, Bofur." "You're welcome laddie." He sits down next to me with his bowl of stew.

"So how are you enjoying the adventure so far?" I blow on some of the hot stew, "I love it. It's amazing to see everything, it took me a little while to adjust to riding a pony but besides that it's quite lovely." He smiles, I eat the stew, "By the gods, you guys are fantastic cooks." "It's nothing special, just an old recipe that's been in the family for years." Bombur says, "Well I love it. Thank you for making it." We eat in silence, just enjoying the company of each other. The silence is broken as Fili and Kili run through the trees, they stop in front of Thorin slightly out of breath they manage to get out. "Mountain trolls took four of the ponies." "Where's Bilbo?" I make my way to the brothers, they look at each other sheepishly, "He kinda went to rescue the ponies." "You let him do that by himself!" I feel anger start to boil in my blood, "Give me a sword." Fili looks at Thorin who nods at him, hesitantly he passes me a dagger. "I said sword but whatever. Where are the trolls?" "In the woods, but-" I hold the dagger in one hand and sprint off into the woods, sneaking around the trees as I get closer to the light illuminating a clearing. "Gotcha! Are there any more of you little fellas hiding where you shouldn't?" "No." I sigh in relief as I hear my brother's voice, "He's lying!" "I'm not!" "Hold his toes over the fire. Make him squeal!" Without a second thought, I run out from behind the trees, I strike the troll in his leg. A horrid scream pierces the air, "Drop him!" "You what?" "I said, drop him." I say, brandishing the dagger, the troll throws my brother at me, I drop the dagger just in time. "What on earth do you think you are doing?" "No time to talk." I gently push Bilbo off of me, picking up the dagger once more, suddenly the dwarves charge out of the bushes. I attack the troll that threw Bilbo at me, grunts meet the air as we continue to strike the trolls, I fly through the air as the troll kicks me away from him. As I get to my feet I notice that two of the trolls hold Bilbo in the air, "Bilbo!" I scream, I start to run towards the trolls, Thorin extends his arm to stop me from attacking. "No!" "Lay down your arms! Or we'll rip his off!" A knot forms in my throat, Bilbo looks at us with terror in his eyes, rather reluctantly Thorin sticks his sword in the ground. One by one everyone follows suit until I am the only one who is still holding my weapon, "Put it down." Thorin whispers, "Think about your brother." I stiffen but throw the dagger to the ground.

The trolls have tie up some of the dwarves on a spit over a fire, and they tie the remainder of the company in sacks that reach our necks. "Don't bother cooking 'em! Let's just sit on 'em and squash 'em into jelly!" One of the trolls exclaims, "They should be sautéed and grilled with a sprinkle of sage." "Oh, that does sound quite nice." "Never mind the seasoning, we ain't got all night! Dawn ain't far away, let's get a move on! I don't fancy been turned to stone." Suddenly Bilbo stands up and hops forward in his sack, "Wait! You are making a terrible mistake." "You can't reason with them, they're half-wits!" Dori says as the troll slowly spins the spit, "Half-wits? What does that make us?" I let out a small chuckle at Bofur's statement. "I meant with the...uh, with the...with the seasoning." "What about the seasoning?" "Well, have you smelt them? You're gonna need something stronger than sage before you plate this lot up!" The dwarves start to get angry, "Who are you callin' smelly lad?" "What do you know about cooking dwarf?" The troll raises a brow in Bilbo's direction, "Shut up, and let the...uh, flurgerburbur-hobbit talk." "Uh...the-the secret to cooking dwarf, is um..." "Yes? Come on." "It's, uh..." Bilbo's eyes scan the company as he tries to think. "Tell us the secret!" "Ye-yes, I'm telling you. The secret is...to...skin them first!" Everyone yells at Bilbo in anger, "Tom, get me filleting knife." the troll that I struck first gets up to look for a knife. "What a load of rubbish! I've eaten plenty with their skins on. Scoff 'em I say, boots and all!" "He's right! Nothing wrong with a bit o' raw dwarf." The troll, Tom, picks me up in my sack and holds me over his open mouth. "I am going to kill you." I mouth to Bilbo, "Nice and crunchy." I cringe as Tom's disgusting breath hits my nostril. "Uh...not...not that one, they're...they're infected!" "You what?" "Yeah they've got worms in their...tubes." "Ooh!" Tom exclaims in disgust as he throws me to the ground, I groan. "In-in fact, they all have. They're infested with parasites, it's a terrible business, I wouldn't risk it, I really wouldn't." "Parasites? Did he say parasites?" "Yeah, we don't have parasites!" Kili looks at Bilbo and says directly to him, "You have parasites!" Thorin kicks Kili, suddenly the dwarves understand that Bilbo is trying to buy us time. "I've got parasites as big as my arm!" "Mine are the biggest parasites, I've got huge parasites!" "We're riddled!" "Yes, I'm riddled!" "Yes, we are, badly!" A troll steps towards Bilbo, "What would you have us do then? Let 'em all go?" "Well..." "You think I don't know what you're up to. This little ferret is taking us for fools!" "Ferret?" Bilbo looks a little hurt at the troll's statement. "Fools?" "The dawn will take you all!" I look to see Gandalf standing on top of a boulder, "Who's that?" "No idea." "Can we eat him too?" Tom asks, Gandalf breaks the boulder he is standing on. The rising sun's light comes through the new opening causing the trolls to turn into stone, the company lights up with cheers of joy. 

Gandalf unties us one by one, Thorin grabs my arm and drags me to the side. "It is my job to look after my company and insure their safety. I can not do that when one of them runs off. We have a certain way of doing things around here, if you pull a little stunt like that again I will send you home." He moves away from me to talk to Gandalf, I look at the ground, my mind whirls with the events that took place. "Why did you do that?" I look up at my brother, "You could have gotten hurt or killed." "You could have too." "This isn't about me." Bilbo grits out, leading us a little farther from the group, he speaks quietly. "You shouldn't have done that, it was stupid. It probably wasn't the best for you to come on this adventure." "That's the thanks I get for trying to save you." "You tried yes but you didn't save me. In the end it was Gandalf that saved all of us." "Come on lads." Bofur yells, Bilbo turns away from and walks towards the group, slowly I follow making sure to keep my eyes on the forest floor. An arm wraps around my shoulder, "Here." Fili hands me the dagger that I took from him earlier, "You'll get more use out of it than I ever will." "Thanks." I sheath the dagger on my belt, "What's the matter? You aren't as joyful as you usually are." "Just thinking." "Be careful when you think, thoughts can hurt you more than words sometimes." "I'll keep that in mind. Thank you again Fili." He pats my shoulder and jogs to his brother, I look up as we enter another cave, a horrid scent meets my nose. "Oh, what's that stench?!" Bofur waves his hand in front of his nose, "It's a troll hoard. Be careful what you touch." I look around at the cave, "Seems a shame just to leave it lying around. Anyone could take it." my eyes scan the piles of treasure, "Agreed. Nori, get a shovel." Gloin says and Nori goes off to look for a shovel. "We're making a long-term deposit." I turn to Gloin, chuckling as I watch Bofur, Nori and Gloin bury some of the troll's treasure. "Let's get out of this foul place. Come on, let's go. Bofur, Gloin, Nori." Thorin makes his way to the mouth of the cave, slowly the company follows him. 

"Something's coming!" Thorin says to the group, "Gandalf." "Stay together! Hurry, now! Arm yourselves!" Gandalf says, I unsheathe the dagger, "Thieves! Fire! Murder!" "Radagast. It's Radagast the Brown!" Gandalf exclaims as he puts his sword away. "What on earth are you doing here?" "I was looking for you, Gandalf. Something's wrong. Something's terribly wrong." "Yes?" Radagast opens his mouth to speak but stops himself to think, "Just give me a minute. Um...Oh! I had a thought and now I've lost it. It was...it was was right there, on the tip of my tongue! Oh! It's not a thought at all! It's a silly old... stick insect." he sticks his tongue out and Gandalf removes the insect and gives it to Radagast. "The Greenwood is sick, Gandalf. A darkness has fallen over it, nothing grows anymore. At least nothing good. The air is foul decay, but worse are the webs." "Webs? What do you mean?" "Spiders, Gandalf. Giant ones. Some kind of spawn of Ungoliant, or I'm not a wizard. I followed their trail. They came from Dol Guldur." A shiver runs down my spine at the mention of spiders, "Dol Guldur? But the old fortress is abandoned." "No, Gandalf. It is not. A dark power dwells in there, such as I have never felt before. It is the shadow of an ancient horror. One that can summon the spirits of the dead. I saw him, Gandalf. From out of the darkness, the Necromancer has come!" Radagast looks quite shaken as he finishes telling us what happened in Dol Guldur, "Sorry." "Try a little old Toby. It'll help setting your nerves." Gandalf places his pipe in Radagast's mouth, who inhales deeply from the pipe. "And out." Radagast exhales through his nose, he looks more relaxed, "Now, the Necromancer. Are you sure?" Radagast takes a sword out and gives it to Gandalf. "That is not from the world of the living." A sharp howl pierces the air, "Was that a wolf?" I turn to Bofur, he shakes his head, "Wolves? No, that is not a wolf." A growl comes from behind us, I turn to see a giant wolf like creature lunge at us, a second one attacks from the side. Thorin and Kili manage to kill the two beasts, "Warg scouts! Which means an orc pack is not far behind!" "Orc pack?" Bilbo looks at Thorin worriedly, "Who did you tell about your quest, beyond your kin?" "No one." "Who did you tell?!" Gandalf steps towards Thorin, "No one, I swear! What in Durin's name is going on?" "You are being hunted." "We have to get out of here." "We can't! We have no ponies. They bolted." Ori says, "I'll draw them off." "These are Gundabad wargs. They will outrun you!" "These are Rhosgobel rabbits. I'd like to see them try." Radagast hops on his rabbit sled and speeds off. 

We follow Gandalf as he leads us out of the forest and out into an open plain, "Come and get me!" Radagast yells as orcs on wargs pursue him. "Come on!" Gandalf leads us in a different direction from the orcs, "Stay together." "Move!" Thorin stops and makes sure the company is ahead of him before running after us, we moves out from behind a rock when Thorin spots the orcs. "Ori, no! Come back." "All of you, come on, come on! Quick!" "Where are you leading us?" Gandalf looks at Thorin with no reply, he moves on ahead under a cliff. We hear a low growl come from above us, "Kili." Kili nods at his uncle, moving away from the cliff wall he uses his bow to take down the orc and his warg, the orc and the warg tumble down from the cliff. The orc lets out a surprisingly high pitched squeal as he is killed, the sound of wargs howling fills the air, the orc pack races towards us. "Move! Run!" We make a run for it, cutting across the plain, "There they are!" "This way! Quickly!" "There's more coming!" "Kili! Shoot them!" Thorin yells, we stop spread out over a section of the plain. "We're surrounded!" Fili spins in a circle, I pull out my dagger, preparing myself for a fight, Kili shots one of the orcs with an arrow. The orc tumbles off of his warg, "Where's Gandalf?" "He's abandoned us!" The orc inch closer, "Hold your ground!" Gandalf suddenly appears a large rock. "This way, you fools!" "Come on, move! Quickly! All of you!" One by one we run to where Gandalf stands, "Go, go, go!" We start to jump inside of the underground tunnel behind the rock, "...nine, ten..." Gandalf counts the members of the company as we enter the tunnel, "Kili! Run!" Thorin yells, after a minute Kili slides down into the tunnel with Thorin following him. A hunting horn ripples through the air, hooves can be heard from outside the tunnel, an orc topples into the tunnel, Thorin pulls on arrow out of the orc's neck. "Elves." "I cannot see where the pathway leads. Do we follow it or not?" Dwalin says from farther down the tunnel, "We follow it, of course!" "I think that would be wise." Gandalf says and Dwalin leads the company through the tunnel. 


	4. The Valley of Imladris

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't find the transcribed elvish anywhere, so I underlined the English transcriptions that I found.

We continue along the narrow tunnel until we come out to an opening that looks over a valley, "The Valley of Imladris. In the common tongue, it's known by another name." "Rivendell." I breath out, taking in the sight of the beautiful valley. "Here lies the last homely house, east of the sea." "This was your plan all along, to seek refuge with our enemy." "You have no enemies here, Thorin Oakenshield. The only ill-will to be found in this valley is that which you bring yourself." "You think the Elves will give our quest their blessing? They will try to stop us." "Of course, they will. But we have questions that need to be answered. If we are to be successful this will need to be handled with tact, and respect, and no small degree of charm, which is why you will leave the talking to me." I silently thank Gandalf for saying that he will do the talking, we make our way towards Rivendell. "So what are the elves like?" I quietly ask Gandalf, "Generally they are kind and inviting." Thorin scoffs, I turn to him. "How would you describe them?" "Evil things, they always go back on their word." "Is that so?" He nods, "I'm sure you are overreacting, they can't be that bad." "Just wait, you'll see." Thorin walks up to where Dwalin is. "Don't mind him, laddie. He's always disliked elves, even before Erebor fell." Balin walks next to me, "He has strong opinions about everything it seems." "He does, his opinions can get in the way of reason on occasion." The company falls silent as we trek down the side of the mountain. As we enter the gates of Rivendell, a rather attractive elf comes down the stairs, "Mithrandir." he puts his hand on his chest and moves it to his side. "Ah Lindir." "We heard you had crossed into the Valley." My ears perk up at the sound of elvish, "I must speak with Lord Elrond." "My Lord Elrond is not here." "Not here? Where is he?" Gandalf asks, we hear familiar sound of the war horn. "Close ranks!" Thorin exclaims, the dwarves surround Bilbo and I, an elf war party surrounds us, I put my hand on my dagger. "Gandalf!" "Lord Elrond." Gandalf continues in elvish "My friend! Where have you been?" "We've been hunting a pack of Orcs that came up from the South. We slew a number near the Hidden Pass." Elrond gets off of his horse, embracing Gandalf as he continues this time in English. "Strange for orcs to come so close to our borders. Something or someone has drawn them near." "Ah, that may have been us." Elrond moves away from Gandalf, he notices Thorin and slowly walks towards him, my hand wraps around the handle of my dagger. "Welcome Thorin, son of Thrain." "I do not believe we have met." My hand falls back to my side as Thorin sheathes his sword, "You have your Grandfather's bearing. I knew Thror when he ruled under the mountain." "Indeed? He made no mention of you." Thorin comes off slightly gruff, Elrond walks to the stairs and says in elvish. "Can we offer you a meal?" 'What is he saying? Does he offer us insult?" "No, Master Gloin, he's offering you food." I answer, everyone in the courtyard look at me in surprise, the company turn to each other and mutter. "I could eat." "As could I." "Aye." They turn back to Gandalf and Elrond, "Ah, Well. In that case, lead on." Gloin says, Elrond gives a half nod. Lindir leads us into one of the buildings, "You know elvish?" I look up at Elrond. "Yes, I studied it when I was younger. Although I am not fluent, I have forgotten a lot of what I studied." "Fascinating." He smiles, "Why is it fascinating?" "Not many hobbits know elvish." I chuckle and nod in agreement. 

We get lead to a table in the middle of the room, I sit between Fili and Kili, plates get placed in front of us. "Try it. Just a mouthful." Dori tries to get Ori to try some of the food, "I don't like green food." Ori places the piece of lettuce back on the plate, "Where's the meat?" "Have they got any chips?" Ori looks down the table, I pick up some lettuce and start to eat it. "How can you eat that? There is no flavor." Kili grumbles, "Have you tried it?" "No." "Then you don't know if it has flavor or not. Here." I hand him a piece of turnip, "Try it." he takes it. Kili eats it, his face scrunches up but he swallows the turnip. "I was right, no flavor and the texture..." He shivers. "Thorin, no!" Balin stands up from the table, I turn to see Thorin handing the map to Elrond, who examines it carefully. "You still read ancient dwarvish, do you not?" Gandalf asks Elrond, "Well in this case, that is true. Moon runes can only be read by the light of the moon of the same shape and season as the day on which they were written." "Can you read them?" Elrond lays the map down, and looks at Thorin. "These runes were written on a mid-summer's eve by the light of a crescent moon nearly two hundred years ago. It would seem you were meant to come to Rivendell. Fate is with you, Thorin Oakenshield. The same moon shines upon us tonight.... Come we need to read it in the direct light of the moon." Gandalf, Elrond, and Thorin get up from the table on the balcony, they walk to a stone slab close to the edge of the balcony. Elrond sets the map on the stone, I turn back to the table but continue to listen. "Stand by the grey stone when the thrush knocks, and the setting sun with the last light of Durin's Day will shine upon the keyhole." "Durin's Day?" Bilbo turns to the group of three men, "It is the start of the dwarves new year, when the last moon of Autumn and the first sun of Winter appear in the sky together." He nods to himself and turns back to the table. "This is ill news. Summer is passing, Durin's Day will soon be upon us." "We still have time." Balin comes next to Thorin, "Time, for what?" "To find the entrance. We have to be standing at exactly the right spot, at exactly the right time. Then, and only then, can the door be opened." "So this is your purpose, to enter the mountain." "What of it?" Thorin grits out, "There are some who would not deem it wise." Elrond gives the map back to Thorin. "Who do you mean?" "You are not the only guardian to stand watch over Middle-earth." Elrond turns to leave, Gandalf follows him, I hear footsteps and someone stands behind me, "If you would like to follow me, I can lead you to where you will staying tonight." all heads turn to the voice. Slowly the company gets up from the table, Lindir leads us out of the dining hall, Kili winks at one of the elves playing the harp. "That's not an elf maiden." Kili stops in his tracks, "It's not?" "No." I chuckle, putting my hand on his shoulder I walk with the rest of the group, "What did you do to my brother?" "I simply said that the elf that he winked at is not a maiden." Fili snickers. "They all look alike. How was I supposed to know." Kili whispers, "It's okay Kili. It happens to all of us." "If you need anything just yell." Lindir says, and leaves us in the spacious room. Ori starts to set up an area to sleep, "No." Thorin mutters, "We will not be resting, we leave soon." Ori nods and stops what he is doing. Pacing the doorway I glance up at Thorin then drop my eyes to the floor, "Something's bothering you." Bilbo comes beside me and I stop pacing. "I've just been thinking." "About what?" "About what you said earlier, about what Thorin said." Bilbo raises his eyebrow, "I've been thinking, and both of you were right. I'm sorry for coming after you alone, I know I should have waited but I panicked, I should have waited for the others. I was just so worried about you, and I wasn't thinking." he pulls me into a hug. "It's okay, I should be the one apologizing. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. You did what any loving sibling would do." He pats my back, I smile weakly. "Is everyone packed?" I nod, "Good." Thorin peeks out of the room, he calls to the company with his hand. We jog out of the gates of Rivendell, "Be on your guard, we're about to step over the edge of the wild. Balin, you know these paths, lead on." "Aye." Balin moves to the front of the group, I stop and look back at Rivendell. "Master Baggins, I suggest you keep up." I look up at Thorin, he turns away and continues on, I rejoin the group as we continue on.

Thunder rumbles in the distance as we enter a mountain pass, rain starts to beat down on us, the wind picks up around us. Bilbo slips, I grab his hand and pull him back onto the narrow path. "We must find shelter!" Thorin yells over the storm, "Look out!" a large rock flies towards us, it impacts on the mountain and shards of rock fall on us. "This is no thunderstorm! it's a thunder-battle! Look!" Balin points towards a mountain, a large chunk of stone breaks away from the mountain and a stone giant engages in battle with a second stone giant. "Well bless me. The legends are true! Giants! Stone giants!" The giants throw stones at each other, "Take cover, you fool!" "Hold on!" the mountain breaks around us. "Kili, grab my hand!" The mountain we are comes to life and starts fighting with the other stone giants, half of the group gets separated. "Bilbo!" I cry out as I realize I lost sight of my brother, Bilbo's face reappears as the giant takes a step, I sigh in relief. Suddenly the giant gets knocked back by another giant, the knee that the other part of the group is on collides with the side of the mountain. My hand flies up to my mouth, the giant crumbles and falls into the valley between the mountains, I scurry trying to see if my brother is okay. I slip off of the path, my scream gets lodged in my throat as I hold onto the edge of the mountain. "Where's Y/n? Where's my sibling?" Bilbo cries, I smile at the fact that he is okay, faces peek over the edge of the mountain. "Get them!" Thorin exclaims, Bofur gets down on his knees and tries to reach for my hand. "Grab my hand laddie!" I try to reach for his hand but it's too far, more of the company tries to reach me but all of their attempts fail. Thorin holds the edge of the path and jumps onto a small ledge, he grabs the collar of my jacket and hoists me up to the others, Bofur and Dwalin pull me back onto the path. "I thought we had lost both of our hobbits." "They have been lost since they left home. They have no place amongst us. They should have never come." My heart drops a little, Bilbo wraps his arms around me. "I thought I lost you." I put on a false smile, "You can't get rid of me that easy. Besides I thought I lost you." Thorin walks inside of a cave, he and Dwalin check the inside of the cave. "It looks safe enough." "Search to the back, caves in the mountains are seldom unoccupied." Dwalin complies and checks the back of the cave, he comes back to Thorin. "There's nothing here." The company enters the cave, I find a small rock and sit down on it. "Right then, let's get a fire started." Gloin claps his hands together, "No. No fires. Not in this place. Get some sleep, we start at first light." "We were to wait in the mountains until Gandalf joined us. That was the plan." "Plans change. Bofur, take the first watch." Bofur sits at the entrance of the cave. 

A low rustling comes from the center of the cave, I open my eyes to see Bilbo packing his bag. "Where do you think you're going?" Bofur stands up from his perch, "Back to Rivendell." "No. No. No. You can't turn back, now. You're part of the company. You're one of us." "I'm not though, am I? Thorin said I should never have come, and he was right." I put my hand on my brother's shoulder. "He said that to me too, stay with us Bilbo. We need you here." "I'm not a Took, I'm a Baggins, I don't know what I was thinking. I should've never run out the door." "You have Took blood. You have made it this far, there is no point in going back now." I poke his chest, Bofur nods. "You're homesick, I understand." "No, you don't understand, you're a dwarf! You're used to...to this life, to living on the road, never settling, not belonging anywhere!" I drop my hand from around Bilbo, "I'm sorry. I didn't..." Bofur looks at him with a glint of sadness in his eyes. "No, you're right. We don't belong anywhere." "If you want to go then go, I wish you all the luck in the world. I truly do." Bofur pats Bilbo's shoulder, my brother looks at me, "You could come, if you would like." "I would love to follow you Bilbo, I really would but I would never forgive myself if I did." he pulls me into a hug, I hug him back. "I'll miss you, see you back at Bag-End?" He nods, smiling weakly I step back from him, he turns to the entrance of the cave. "What's that?" Bofur points to Bilbo's sword, "Orcs." Bilbo breathes out, "Wake up! Wake up!" Thorin shouts as he jumps to his feet, I look down to see the cave floor cracking.


	5. Goblin Town

The floor falls away under us, the company falls, I land on my back and grunt out in pain, someone lands on top of me causing me to exhale sharply. The person on top of me gets pulled off of me, then I get pulled up from the floor, Fili flashes me a sheepish smile. "Sorry about that." "It's fine." "Shut it." A goblin hisses out, he pushes me into line behind Fili, we get marched down wooden walkway, I take in my surroundings. I bump into Fili's back, "Sorry." "It's fine." Fili whispers back, "Well well well, what have we here?" I look towards the voice and cringe at the figure that meets my eyes. "Who would be so bold as to come into my kingdom armed? Assassins? Thieves? Spies?" "Dwarves, your malevolence." "Dwarves!" The Great Goblin recoils, "Search them! Every crack! Every crevice!" he cries, goblins come forward and start to search us. I pull my sheathed dagger off of my belt, a goblin snatches it away from me, throwing it to the floor he turns back to me, I feel a familiar acidic taste in mouth as the goblin searches me. Finding no other weapons he moves away from me, I swallow the lump in my throat but the acidic taste stays in my mouth. "What are you doing in these parts? Speak!" The company stays silent as we gaze upon the Great Goblin, "Very well. If they won't talk, we will make them squawk! Bring up the mangler! Bring up the bone crusher!" he turns to the company and points his staff at Ori and I. "Start with the youngest." "Wait!" Thorin pushes past Fili and I, "Look who it is! Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror, king under the mountain." the Great Goblin bends into mocking bow. "Oh... but I'm forgetting, that you don't have a mountain and you are no king. Which makes you nobody really." he pauses in thought, "I know someone who would pay a pretty price for your head. Just the head, nothing attached. Perhaps you know of whom I speak, an old enemy of yours. A pale orc astride a white warg." "Azog the Defiler was destroyed. He was slain in battle long ago." "So you think his defiling days are done, do you?" he turns to a scribe, "Send word to the pale orc, tell him I found his prize." the scribe scribbles down the message and he zips off on his mission. 

I look around trying to find Bilbo, feeling eyes on me I stop looking, "Thorin." I grit out. He doesn't respond instead he glares at the Great Goblin, "Thorin." I say a little louder, "What's wrong laddie?" Balin comes next to me, "I can't find Bilbo. I don't know where he went." "When was the last time you saw him?" "Right before we fell, he was going to go back to Rivendell." "Well then, I think he followed through with his plan, he didn't fall with us and is probably on his way back to Rivendell." I shake my head. "I don't actually think he would go through with it. I know my brother, and as much as he would like to turn back, he would never forgive himself if he actually did turn back. Besides I saw in his eyes, he was hesitant to leave." I start to take shallow, shaky breathes thinking about what may have happened to my brother. "Deep breathes laddie, think of all the happy times you had with Bilbo. He wouldn't want you worrying about him, he can manage on his own." I try to steady my breath, "Your brother has been missing home since he ran after us. He made his decision to leave, he is not coming back. Think not of him. It would benefit you if you thought about this quest and your survival." Thorin grunts before turning back to the Great Goblin. My breath becomes even more shaky, my gaze drops to the floor, "Don't listen to him laddie." I lean towards Balin, and lower my voice until it's barely audible. "I know this probably isn't the best time to mention it but-." A loud clang rings out through the caves, the Great Goblin tries to retreat farther back onto his throne, "I know that sword! It's the Goblin-cleaver! The Biter! The blade that sliced thousands of necks!" he points his staff at the company. "Slash them, beat them, peel them, kill them all!" Goblin surround us, hands grab at me, all thoughts of my brother leave my head as I try fight off the goblins, out of the corner of my eye I see that a goblin has managed to get his hand on Thorin. "Cut of his head!" The Great Goblin shrieks out, I kick the goblin holding me in the crotch, he lets go of me and clutches his crotch. Before I can move towards Thorin, a bright light flashes through the cave, I fall to my back. "Take up arms. Fight. Fight!" Gandalf's familiar voice breaks through the sound of groans, slowly getting to my feet I barely manage to catch a sword that is thrown towards me. I smile, "Now this is a sword." a goblin charges at me, without thinking I run the sword through his torso. "He wields the Foe-hammer, the beater, bright as daylight." More goblins swarm us as the Great Goblin cries out, "Follow me. Quick, run!" Gandalf exclaims, I turn away from the goblin swarms and follow Bofur. 

We run through the winding caves, the sound of hundreds of footsteps follow us, a dozen goblins jump in front of us, one manages to grab my wrist, I slice his head off and continue running. The Great Goblin jumps in front of us, I skid to a stop before I can crash into Thorin, "You thought you could escape me!" we step back as he comes closer to us. "What are you going to do now, wizard?" Gandalf stabs his staff into the Great Goblin's eye, he slices the stomach of the goblin open, "Oh, that'll do it." the Great Goblin collapses to his knees and Gandalf slices his throat. The bridge collapses under the weight on the Great Goblin falling, for the third time that night I fall onto my back, I hit the bottom of a cave, "Well that could have been worse." Bofur exclaims, I start to get up when the Great Goblin falls on top of us. The air gets knocked out of me, "You've got to be kidding me." Gloin, Oin, Thorin, Balin, Fili, Dori, Nori, Bombur, Bifur, and Gandalf slowly push the Great Goblin off of us, I free myself from the weight and stand up, taking a shallow breath I groan as I feel a pain on my ribs. Shaking off the felling, I help Ori up and we help the others push the Great Goblin off of Kili and Dwalin. I pick up the sword from the ground, "Gandalf!" I turn to see hundreds and hundreds of goblins flooding the cave behind us, "There are too many, we can't fight them all." "Only one thing will save us. Daylight! Come on!" Gandalf runs towards a tunnel, one by one we follow him, every so often I glance behind us. Sunlight hits my skin, I squint as my eyes adjust to the light, "Keep running!" Thorin yells from the head of the group. I stumble over my feet, catching myself before I can fall down, I turn and stare at the cave that we just exited. "Five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.... eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen." Gandalf turns as he counts the members of the company, "Where's Bilbo? Where is our other hobbit?" "He left. Master Baggins saw his chance and he took it. He has been missing his soft bed and fireplace since he left his hobbit-hole, we will not be seeing him again, he is long gone." "Thorin's probably right, my brother is gone." "No, he's not." Bilbo steps out from behind a tree. I run over to him and wrap my arms around him, "I thought you were going back to Rivendell." he pats my back, "No, no. You changed my mind, I can't leave the company. I pledged myself to this company and I will see this quest to it's end." a small sniffle breaks through the air. I feel eyes on my back, stepping away from Bilbo I wipe my eyes and turn towards Thorin, "Shouldn't we get going? Night will soon be on us." he nods.

A foreign langue pierces the air, I turn to the top of the hill, up on the hill stands a pack of wargs, in the middle, a large white warg with a pale orc as it's rider. I gasp lowly, "So this is Azog?" "Yes. We went out of the frying pan.." "And into the fire. Run! Run!" Gandalf turns and starts running, quickly I whip around and run after him. I hold the sword tightly, turning around and pressing my back against the trunk of a tree, a warg lunges at me with an open mouth, I stab my sword the roof of it's mouth. Blood flows over my hands, the warg falls to the ground, I plunge my sword into it's neck, the warg goes limp and I pull my sword out of it's neck. "Up the trees! Quick!" Gandalf yells, I sheath my sword and start to climb the tree, my feet slip and I barely get a grasp on the branch before I can fall. A warg stands on it's hindlegs, it's teeth glimmer in the light of the moon, I stand up on the branch and hoist myself to a higher branch. "Azog!" Thorin bellows out, Azog responds in black speech, wargs circle around the base of the trees. A warg jumps up causing the tree to shake, the tree groans loudly as it starts to break, I jump from the falling tree and grab onto a branch of the tree next to me. A burning pinecone flies through the air, it lands in front of a warg, the warg backs away from the fire, "Y/n!" Fili exclaims, I look up and he tosses me a flaming pinecone. I toss it between my hands a few times before aiming, it hits a warg right between the eyes, the warg whimpers and scampers away. The tree groans as Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, and Ori jump on, Fili tosses me another pinecone which I throw at Azog, his white warg takes one step back. Azog points his sword at me and says something in black speech, I gulp, sifting on my branch, suddenly the tree sags over the edge of the cliff, my feet slip off of the branch, someone grabs the scruff of my jacket and lifts me onto the tree. "Thank you." "Don't mention it." Thorin's gruff voice meets my ears, I almost slip off of the branch again, "Watch yourself, you don't want to fall all that way." he hesitantly takes his hand off of the scruff of my jacket. I look up at him, he looks at the wargs through the fire, "Thorin, no." he stands up on the trunk of the tree and makes his way off of the tree onto the cliff. Thorin charges at Azog, before his sword can meet it's mark Azog knocks him off of his feet, the white warg takes Thorin in it's mouth and throws him to the side, through the fire I see Thorin's eyes flutter shut. Azog looks to one of his orcs, saying something in black speech as he points his sword at Thorin, the orc jumps off of it's warg and makes his way to Thorin. I swing myself onto the trunk of the tree, "Y/n." Bilbo reaches his hand out to me, I take his hand and help pull him up onto the trunk of the tree. We run off of the tree, Bilbo runs past me and jumps on the orc, the orc stumbles around, Bilbo stabs it's neck, the orc crumbles to the ground. Bilbo faces Azog, I accidently make eye contact with the pale orc, he snarls out an order, two orcs jump off of their wargs and stalk towards Bilbo and I. The rest of the company charges at the orcs on the outer circle, I fight off one of the orcs, managing to spin around him and sinking my sword into his back, the orc falls limp in front of Thorin. I get pushed to the ground, I feel a heavy weight on my back, hot breath hits my neck a warg growls lowly, I turn my head slightly to see the white warg over me. A pair of boots stop next to my head, I raise my gaze and meet the icy blue eyes of Azog the Defiler, he steps on my back and whispers something in black speech. He plunges his sword into my shoulder, a scream gets caught in my throat, "Y/n!" Bilbo cries out, I try to keep my eyes from closing. The last thing I see is eagles flying towards us, my eyes shut against my will and darkness overcomes me.


	6. Revival

**_"Y/n, come on. Mother wants us home to wash up before the celebration." A soft summer breeze flows through the trees, I look down at my older brother, his eyes are full of worry. "Will the Took's be there?" Bilbo sighs, rubbing his eyes before looking back up at me. "Yes they will," I jump down from my perch in the tree, "You know how father feels when you get together with the Took's." "He's old, what does he know about having fun?" I skip ahead of my brother, he jogs to keep up. "Just be careful, I don't want anything bad happening." I stop in my tracks and turn to him, "Don't worry about me. No matter what I will always return in one piece, but I promise I will be careful." I crack a small smile, Bilbo smiles back at me and puts his arm around my shoulder._ **

My chest heaves, trying to regain the breath that I have lost I turn onto my side, Bilbo looks down at me. "Thorin... is he okay?" "Yes he's okay. Gandalf had to revive him too." I grunt as I sit up, "Here let me help." Bilbo leans down and helps me lean against a small rock. "What were you thinking? You almost got yourself killed!" Thorin walks towards Bilbo and I, "And what of it? It means I would have died for a noble cause." I cut Thorin off, he seems taken back, his face softens but his voice stays stern. "Did I not say that I would send you home if you pulled a stunt like that again? That you have no place amongst us." He gets down on his knee, placing his hand on my non-injured shoulder he looks deep in my eyes. "I have never been so wrong, in all my life." He breaks eye contact with me and looks up at Bilbo, "I am sorry I ever doubted the both of you." "I would have doubted me too, I'm not a hero nor a warrior.... hell I'm not even a burglar." I chuckle at my brother's remark, I look up at him and gently take his hand. "That's where you are wrong, you are a hero." Bilbo flashes a wobbly smile, I look at my shoulder seeing that a white bandage wrapped around it, "Who dressed this?" "I did," Oin steps forward, "I didn't want to do it when you were unconscious but there was so much blood loss, I had to." "You did what you had to do." looking up at Oin I smile. "Thank you Oin." He smiles back, "A raven!" all heads turn to Bofur who is point into the distance, a hand appears in front of me, I look up to see Thorin, taking his hand he helps me up, we slowly to walk to where Bofur stands. "Is that what I think it is?" "Erebor! The Lonely Mountain. The last of the Great Dwarf Kingdoms of Middle-Earth." Gandalf states, I look to Thorin, his face lights up with hope, "The birds are returning to the mountain, we shall take this as a sign. A good omen." gently I squeeze his hand, he turns to me. Embarrassed, I look away so he doesn't see my flushed face, "You're right." thankfully Bilbo speaks up, "I do believe the worst is behind us." "I agree with Master Baggins." Gandalf turns to Thorin, "I think it would best for us to rest here for the day. You need to regain your strength. Young Master Baggins needs to regain their strength as well." the wizard glances down at our hands, which are still intertwined. "Agreed. We will rest here for today, continuing the journey tonight. Set up what you need to be comfortable, Gloin, Fili, and Kili go look for firewood." Gloin, Fili, and Kili nod at Thorin before heading off to look for firewood, "Come." Thorin whispers, he leads me away from the group, we stop at the edge of the cliff.

Using Thorin to balance I slowly sit down, he sits down next to me, looking into the horizon I smile at the sight of the Lonely Mountain. "You are much more courageous than I intentionally thought, again I am sorry for doubting you. I owe you my life." "Nonsense, you don't owe me anything, I chose to defend you." He takes a deep breath, "It was your choice but you got injured because you were defending me.... and let me apologize," I look up at him, "You don't need to." his eyes seem hesitant but he continues, "I'm sorry for what I said after the fight with the trolls, and what I said in the mountain pass. It just slipped out, I'm sorry if it was harsh or if it was hurtful." "But you were right to say it, you can't protect your company if they run off in a panic. And Bilbo and I have no place amongst dwarves, we aren't as used to this life as you are but both of us made our decisions and came on this quest." he rubs his eyes, "By Durin this is difficult." he mutters before looking back at me. "No, I wasn't right. What I said it was wrong and forgive me for saying it... please." I gently place my hand on his shoulder, "You are forgiven Thorin." he gives me a small smile, I move my hand away from his shoulder, he gently takes my hand in his. "You should try and get some rest soon." "You should too." The crackling of a fire makes me turn my head, I see all of the company looking at us as they sit around the fire, I flash a shy smile then look back at the Lonely Mountain. "Soo... What does the king of Erebor do for fun when he is not on a quest?" Thorin chuckles, "There was never much time for fun when we were trying to rebuild our lives after the loss of Erebor, but I do enjoy reading, relaxing in a forest or near a pool, or exploring." he smirks, "What does the young Master Baggins do for fun when they aren't in their hobbit hole?" "Hmm, I enjoy reading in the forest, exploring, cooking and baking." "Well I know you are a fantastic cook, I hope I am able to try some more of your cooking and some of your baking." "I'll make sure you get to try some." smiling I rest my head on his shoulder, he stiffens a little bit but soon relaxes. "How long do you think it will take for us to reach the mountain?" "It will take many months but I don't know how long exactly." He uses his thumb to rub small circles on the the back of my hand, "Do.." I look up at him, "Yes?" "Do you know anymore songs? I would love to hear your singing voice again." "Oh, of course." I straighten up, humming to warm up my voice, "Is there anything in particular you want to hear?" "You pick as you are the performer." I smile, starting to sing.

_My mother told me_

_Someday I would buy_

_Galleys with good oars_

_Sails to distant shores_

_My mother told me_

_Someday I would buy_

_Galleys with good oars_

_Sails to distant shores_

_Stand up high in the prow_

_Noble barque I steer_

_steady course for the haven_

_Hew many foe-men_

_Hew many foe-men_

Suddenly Thorin joins, I look to him in surprise, he smiles while harmonizing with me. 

_My mother told me_

_Someday I would buy_

_Galleys with good oars_

_Sails to distant shores_

_My mother told me_

_Someday I would buy_

_Galleys with good oars_

_Sails to distant shores_

_Stand up high in the prow_

_Noble barque I steer_

_Steady course for the haven_

_Hew many foe-men_

_Hew many foe-man_

I stare at Thorin in shock, "What?" "I never would have thought that you know that song." "You have much to learn about me." "I guess I do." "I didn't know that Hobbit's know that song, where did you learn it?" Thorin asks, "My mother would sing it to me to lull me back to sleep after having a nightmare." he opens his mouth to speak again but Bofur interrupts. "Thorin, Y/n breakfast is ready." Letting go of my hand, he slowly stands up before holding his hand out to me, I take his hand and stand up. He limps slightly, "Do you need help?" "No no, It's fine." we walk towards the rest of the company, reluctantly I let go of Thorin's hand and sit next to my brother. Dori hands me a small plate of sausages and potatoes, "Thank you Dori." "You're welcome, Master Baggins." I pick up one of sausages and bite into it, "I never knew you could sing, laddie." Dwalin says through a mouthful of food. "That was nothing." "That wasn't nothing, you have the voice of a siren." A blush creeps onto my cheeks at Balin's remark, the dwarves exclaim in agreement, my cheeks darken as I look down at my food. I eat the rest of the sausage, "Thank you everyone." I eat as I look around at the company, Bifur, Bofur, Gloin, and Nori talk of ales, Ori, Fili, and Kili talk of young maidens, Balin, Dwalin, Oin, Thorin and Gandalf talk of our next moves, Dori and Bombur talk of what type of cake goes best with what type of tea, and Bilbo.... Bilbo is glaring at Thorin. I nudge his side, "Huh?" "Is something bothering you?" "No.. no, nothing is bothering me." "Sure." I say sarcastically, "I'm telling the truth, nothing is bothering me." "Okay I believe you." "How's your shoulder?" "It hurts, and it will probably take a while to heal. You said that Thorin had to be revived but you also said too, did I need to be revived as well?" Bilbo nods, "After dressing your wounds, we tried to wake you up but nothing was working. Gandalf pushes us all away before leaning over you and whispering something, before we knew what was happening you were gasping for air." "Oh... I need to remember to thank him." Bilbo turns to me, looking into my eyes he whispers, "What was it like being.... ya know." "Well I didn't know I was dead or anything like that. I had a lovely memory about one of the celebrations that we had back when we were kids, Old Took's summer celebration." I smile fondly as the memory floods my mind, "Ah those celebrations were wonderful, the food and drinks, the music, the fireworks." both of us look at Gandalf. "Those fireworks are stunning, watching them light up the sky. Remember the giant fairy one," "Remember.." Bilbo chuckles, "That memory will forever be engraved in my mind, seeing you try and run away from Gandalf and mother. That was my fondest memory of any of the celebrations." I scoff, gently pushing Bilbo's side. "Rude!" "How is that rude? I know that your fondest memory of the celebrations was the time I got tripped while dancing with Susie and then landed face first in the dirt." I start to laugh but stop as pain spreads through my shoulder, "You're not wrong but you can't lie that was funny." "Not for me" Bilbo grumbles, "Well it was funny for me and I will keep that memory forever so I can tell your kids about the time you literally ate dirt." "You wouldn't!" he stands up, not realizing that the rest of the company had stopped talking to watch us. "Oh but I would." "If you do that then I'll tell your kids about the time that you ended up in the pig pen to get away from Farmer Maggot." I gasp, "That was a low moment, I admit, but I did what I had to do. Don't forget that I know all of your secrets, brother." "As do I." we glare at each other for a minute, footsteps draw closer to us, Bilbo bursts out laughing, chuckling I turn to the person who came towards us. 

"I see you two are having fun." "Gandalf!" The wizard squats down next to us, I wrap one arm around him, "Thank you for reviving me." "You're welcome, my dear Y/n. Your shoulder will take a while to heal but once it does, it will be as good as new. That being said..... you will not be fighting until it's healed, if we encounter an obstacle that requires fighting then we shall defend you." "Gandalf, you can't do that. I am a fighter and besides I can use a sword with either hand so I am still capable of fighting." "No, your shoulder will not heal properly if you fight. I have made my decision and if you find it unsuitable then you can leave and return home." I swallow my retort, he gently cups the side of my face, my gaze meets his, those familiar blue eyes show a glint of remorse. "Wise choice, I don't want to see our company shrink in number.... Now you should get some rest, restore your energy." He straightens up, turning on his heel and walks towards the dwarves. Once again I sit down next to my brother, "Wizards." I huff out, Bilbo chuckles, he scoots closer to me, "Come here." I raise my eyebrow at him, "It will be just like the old days, sleep on my shoulder." I smile, putting my head on his shoulder. "Just think you'll be able to tell your kids about the time that you defended a king and had to be revived after the fight." "And you'll be able to tell your kids about how you tackled an orc to defend a king." I gaze at dwarves before locking eyes with Thorin, Bilbo continues, "Imagine if mother could see us now, our Took side showing through the Baggins, us on an adventure. She would be proud of what we have done." I start to zone out while staring at Thorin, without realizing I drift off.

**_Thorin stands at the doorway, he has a clean green tunic on, a beautiful pelt hangs around his neck, the golden crown on his head shimmers in the dim light. "Y/n/n, my beloved. You look stunning." I look down to see that I am wearing a beautiful green and black kilt with a black blouse, the pelt of a deer hangs from my shoulders. Thorin walks towards me, he gently puts his hands on the sides of my head, "Careful, I don't want the crown to fall." I softly gasp, he drops his hands to my shoulders and leads me to a mirror. I fully take in my appearance, a smaller version of Thorin's crown sits upon my head, the colors of the crown, pelt, blouse and kilt merry together beautifully. He rests his chin on my shoulder, snaking his arms around my waist, "Everyone will love you." I hum in response, our eyes meet each other in the mirror. "I hope so. I know they love and respect you but..." "Don't start with the 'I'm a hobbit' thing again. You are a hobbit, yes but I love you and I have chosen to love you for the rest of my life, I have chosen you as the one that I want to have next to me as I rule this kingdom." He straightens up, turning me around to face him, my eyes meet his captivating blue ones, "You came on the journey to reclaim Erebor, staying loyal the entire time, that is more than I could ask of anyone. They will not be swayed by the fact that you are not a dwarf, they know of everything you have done and they respect you. Do not fret my love, they will love you." he leans in and softly kisses my temples. "I will try not to, I'm just nervous." "There is no need to be nervous, just hold your head high and try to keep your mind on something that makes you happy. I'll be by your side the entire time." His hands fall to my hips, my hands find their place on his chest, "Thank you for reassuring me, amrâlimê." he smiles fondly, "You remembered?" "Of course, it's the only word in Khuzdul I remembered." standing on my tiptoes I kiss his cheek._**

Something sharpish repeatedly pokes my cheek, groaning I rub my eyes, "You best believe I will smite whoever you are when I open my eyes." footsteps scurry away from me. I look up to see Fili and Kili trying to look nonsuspicious, they lean against each other Fili accidentally locks eyes with me, he starts whistling and moves away from his brother. Forgetting that my shoulder is injured, I use my left hand to get up, "Mother-" "Don't you dare finish that statement." Bilbo calls out, I inhale through gritted teeth. "Are you okay, laddie?" Balin asks, "Yea, yea I'm okay. Just forgot that my shoulder is injured." Shaking off the pain, slowly stalking towards Fili and Kili, they bolt away from me, "Oh yea, you better run." I decide to take on Fili, dashing after the blonde dwarf. "Uncle! Help!" Thorin laughs, "You got yourself into this situation then you can get yourself out of it." I get an idea and stopping running, I crouch behind a large rock. Fili paces around the camp looking for me, suddenly I jump out of my hiding spot taking the dwarf by surprise, he tumbles to the ground with me on top of him. "Gotcha you little wanker." "What are you going to do now? Stab me?" I shake my head chuckling, "No no. I just wanted to prove a point, don't poke me again." "Point taken, I will not poke you again." "Neither will I." I turn to see Kili, poking his head out from behind Dwalin. I slowly stand up, holding out my right hand to Fili, he takes my hand and I help him up. "Sorry for waking you up but we wanted you to get dinner before we set off again." Kili says, "Oh." I mutter, a wooden bowl is placed in my hands, "Here you go." "Thank you, Bofur." "Anytime laddie." Bofur makes his way back to the small fire. I walk over to the rock that I hid behind, sitting down on the rock I look at the company, everyone is sitting around the fire laughing, eating, and recalling fond memories. "Mind if I sit here?" My gaze snaps up to the person next to me, Thorin stands before me, "Not at all, come sit." I scoot over on the rock, he sits next to me. "How did you sleep?" "I slept alright, I didn't mean to fall asleep though, it just kind of happened." He nods, I start to eat the stew, "Your brother ended up falling asleep a little while after you, he didn't want to move you." he pauses to take a bite of stew, "I noticed that you don't enjoy when people wake you up." "No I don't enjoy it, in fact I hate it. I like to sleep, it is the only time that I can fully escape from life." "I understand, sleeping is how I would escape from the fact that I was meant to be king." looking at him I ask, "Was it really that bad?" "When I look back on it, no it wasn't that bad but when I was younger I thought it was the worst." "You had a large responsibility placed on your shoulders at a young age, it's no surprise you thought it was the worst." he smiles. "You know, you are the only one that has understood when I said that sleep is an escape from reality." He raises his eyebrow at me, "Really?" I nod eating the rest of my stew, I place the bowl on the rock next to me and look back at Thorin, I nod in response. "Right, we can continue this conversation on the road." Thorin stands up from the rock, "Everyone eat?" the company answers in a chorus of yes's. "Gather your stuff, douse the fire and prepare to continue on our journey." 


End file.
